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Santa Save
Location: Phoenix, Arizona Date: December 13, 1988 Story On December 13, 1988 in Phoenix, Arizona, 29-year-old Robin Clouse was driving with her two young children, 5-year-old Stephanie and 4-year-old Jamie. They were going to the mall to do some Christmas shopping and see Santa. She drove to the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant to get them some dinner. Although she had rules about eating in the car, they were really excited about seeing Santa and she let them do so. On their way to the mall, they stopped at a red light in an intersection and Robin noticed that Jamie dropped his food on the floor. At first she thought he was putting it down, but then realized that he was choking. "He was making no sound, gasping for air, and had tears in his eyes," Robin stated. Robin reached over Stephanie and tried to dislodge the food by slapping Jamie on the back, but with no luck. Terrified, she put the car in park, got out, and went to the passenger side. Then a man in the van next to them asked what was going on and Robin told him Jamie was choking. He, who was in a Santa suit, came out and told her to give Jamie to him. She did and he did the Heimlich Maneuver on him. After a few attempts, he coughed up the food and started crying. As the man gave him back to Robin, she felt great relief that he was okay now. As the light turned green, the man got back in his van and drove off. Robin and Jamie got back in the car and she was so shaken up that she didn't realize the man was in a Santa suit until Stephanie asked her, "Why is Santa driving the van?" "Stephanie said, 'Why was Santa in the van and where is he going?' And I said, 'He's going to the North Pole to get his reindeer,'" Jamie said. Stephanie remembered that they never got the chance to thank the man since he drove off before they could. Robin personally wanted to do so, so she called a local newspaper and put an ad on to find a man in a Santa suit who saved her son. Stories about finding the mystery man were picked up by the local media, including radio station KNIX. Dale Long was well acquitted with the man they were looking for and he called KNIX. "I've known him for 20 years. We're good friends and know him like I do. I knew that he would never tell anyone else because he's the type of man who does like to blow his own horn. So I called the radio station and told them who he was," Long stated. Word spread quickly and a week before Christmas, Robin, Stephanie, and Jamie got a special visitor, the man who saved Jamie. "Jamie is a pretty shy little guy, so I almost had to pull him out from behind the door," the man said. Jamie thought it was really something because Santa made a special trip there to his house for him. Stephanie thanked him for saving Jamie's life. "I'm very grateful to him for being there. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't have Jamie to this day," Robin said. That year, the spirit of Christmas touched the Clouse family in a very special way. "He's a very warm and cheery guy. It seems like he loves the children. I had Jamie go buy him a gift because Santa never gets gifts. That's how a Santa should get gifts at this time," Robin said. Jamie is a little more open about Santa and goes around telling a mob of people that he saved his life. "It makes me think that I have done something for humanity. Who knows who and what Jamie may grow up to be? And because I was there, maybe he has a chance to grow up to be something," the heroic Santa said. Category:1988 Category:Arizona Category:Choking Category:Holiday Category:Christmas